UPPSC FSO official syllabus guide
UPPSC FSO syllabus 2026
UPPSC runs its FSO recruitment PCS-style: a Preliminary Exam, a descriptive Main Written Exam, then an Interview. Prelims Paper I is where the food-technology domain actually sits, per the FSO notification, and it is the only paper whose marks count toward the merit list that carries a candidate into Mains — Paper II (CSAT) is qualifying only. This site's mocks cover Paper I, the merit-determining paper.
Exam pattern and marking
- Paper I (General Studies) — 150 questions, 200 marks, 2 hours
- Paper II (CSAT) — 100 questions, 200 marks, 2 hours, qualifying only (minimum 33% to pass), does not count toward merit ranking
- 1/3 mark (0.33) negative marking per wrong answer in Prelims
- Only Paper I marks rank candidates for the Main (descriptive) Written Exam
UPPSC notifies the FSO syllabus and pattern per recruitment cycle. The figures above reflect the 2026 cycle as reported by secondary coverage (adda247.com, careerpower.in, notification24.in) — UPPSC's own notification PDF was not directly located as of 2026-09-04, so treat this as the best-available verified shape, not a copy of the board's own document, and re-check before you plan around it.
Prelims Paper I syllabus
Unit 1: Food Chemistry
4 topics- Carbohydrates, proteins and lipids — structure, function and processing-related changes
- Enzymatic and non-enzymatic (Maillard) browning
- Water activity, moisture sorption and food stability
- Vitamins, minerals and their stability during processing
Unit 2: Food Microbiology
3 topics- Microbial growth kinetics and thermal death time (D-value, z-value)
- Foodborne pathogens, spoilage organisms and mycotoxins
- Fermented foods and starter cultures
Unit 3: Food Preservation and Processing
3 topics- Thermal processing, canning, chilling, freezing and dehydration
- Emerging preservation — hurdle technology, MAP, high pressure processing, irradiation
- Unit operations common across commodity processing lines
Unit 4: Food Technology (by commodity)
3 topics- Cereals, pulses and oilseeds — milling, parboiling, refining
- Milk and milk products; meat, poultry, fish and egg technology
- Fruits and vegetables — ripening, storage and processing
Unit 5: Human Nutrition and Public Health
3 topics- Macro- and micronutrient deficiency diseases — kwashiorkor, beriberi, pellagra, IDD, xerophthalmia
- Recommended Dietary Allowances and nutritional assessment (BMI)
- Food fortification programmes relevant to Indian public health
Unit 6: Food Analysis and Quality Control
3 topics- Proximate analysis — Kjeldahl (protein), Soxhlet (fat), ash, moisture
- Adulteration testing — starch, formalin and other common tests
- Instrumental methods — HPLC, colorimetry, refractometry, microbial plate counts
Unit 7: Food Laws and Regulations
3 topics- Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and FSSAI's regulatory structure
- Licensing/registration, misbranding and unsafe food, penalty provisions
- Codex Alimentarius and the FSS Act's consolidation of the earlier PFA Act, 1954
Unit 8: Food Packaging and Enzymology
2 topics- Packaging materials and systems — aseptic packaging, MAP, active and intelligent packaging
- Industrial enzymes — rennet, pectinase, lipase, amylase and their applications
Source: UPPSC official site ↗. Checked 2026-09-04.
Free resources for UPPSC FSO
Free books, notes and channels for this exam.
Free PDFs
Free
Assess current performance
See where you stand today.
See every UPPSC FSO mock test on the site — full papers, sectional tests, cut-offs and eligibility.